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A Novel
by Amanda Peters
A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a family, and will remain unsolved for nearly fifty years.
July 1962. A Mi'kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family's youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister's disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren't telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
For readers of The Vanishing Half and Woman of Light, this showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time.
Why do you feel Norma had so much difficulty maintaining relationships? Do you have friends from childhood or college, or have you lost touch with most friends from earlier days?
I agree with everyone's comments about Norma's isolation and being overprotected–but I particularly like Rosemary's observation that she felt responsible for her mother's feelings–she did everything she could to avoid "causing" her headaches. It was best not to question and to stay quietly alone.
-Barbette_T
June tells Lenore that “kids don’t even start to form actual memories until they are five or six” (p.35). Do you agree with this? What’s your first memory?
When I heard this in the story I shook my head. I know of people who have memories earlier and it was obvious that Norma did have memories from earlier and they gaslit her about them saying they were dreams. I felt very sad that Norma was treated this way.
-Vicky_Sargent
What audience would you recommend The Berry Pickers to? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
I think that this book has broad appeal to a variety of audiences. There is a lot to discuss in the book and the characters have very distinct voices and issues.
-Shirley_Fentz
Did you prefer Joe's voice, Norma's, or the combination? Were there other characters you wished could give their point of view?
I liked hearing from both voices and their points of view. I agree that Joe's voice was more compelling and explicit in baring his soul. I would have liked to hear from Lenore and Mae as well, but not in as much depth.
-Shirley_Fentz
What did you think about Lewis, Joe’s father, faking a stereotype to make more money from wealthy recreational hunters?
I think that Joe did what he had to do in order to appease the people hiring him as a guide. The indigenous people had to hunt before the settlers arrived and I think that the white people expected him to have a greater sense of place, and better hunting skills than they did. He just played along.
-Shirley_Fentz
When did you figure out the relationship between the two storylines, and how did it make you feel?
I realized it pretty early also when Ruthie talked about her dreams. I wish that she could have found her family earlier and gotten a chance to know them.
-Shirley_Fentz
How do you feel the opening line sets the scene? What expectations did it give you for the story, and were those fulfilled?
The opening line grabbed me…who was Ruthie, how did she go missing, but the black flies??? I wasn't sure what to expect.
-Shirley_Fentz
Have you ever discovered a family secret? How did it change your relationship with the people around you?
In doing my Ancestry tree, I found a first cousin who grew up in my hometown, but on the south side (we were on the north side). I spoke with him and he and his sister had the same mother but different fathers. I narrowed it down to an uncle whose children and I and my brothers were very close to...
-Shirley_Fentz
If you were going to write a novel based on stories of family history your parents told you, as Amanda Peters has here, where would it be set and what might it be about?
My story would begin in Italy where my dad's parents (separately) emigrated to Ohio. My grandmother came over at 10 months old with her parents. At 15 she married my grandfather (they lied about her age) and had her first child at 16. I would write about the Italian culture that they brought with...
-Shirley_Fentz
You might say this story is ultimately about forgiveness. Are you able to find all the major characters redeemable in some way, or are there any you cannot forgive?
Well said Charlene! Your point about being deprived of growing up in a loving/connected family made me wonder Norma's marriage would have survived and thrived. My hunch is yes.
-Jill_Mercier
The family receives very little help from the authorities when Ruthie goes missing. How do you think this scenario would have been different today? What factors do you think influence a quick response when someone disappears?
The degree of callousness surprised me - there has been a lot of attention paid to this type of disparity in recent years. I think the spotlight being shone on the different treatment of whites vs people of color will promote change going forward.
-Charlene_D
About the The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
A post was merged into an existing topic: /t/if-you-were-going-to-write-a-novel-based-on-stories-of-family-history-your-parents-told-you-as-amanda-peters-has-here-where-would-it-be-set-and-what-might-it-be-about/159/13 If you were going to write a novel based on stories of family history your par...
-nick
After Ruthie goes missing, what do you think keeps the remaining family members bound together? What do you think pulls them apart?
I think that love kept the family together as well as their belief that Ruthie was out there somewhere. I believe that Joe was consumed with guilt and blamed himself for her disappearance and that's why he pulled himself away from his family.
-Susan_Roberts
In the end, why do you think Norma's mother did the very drastic thing she did?
I think she was mentally unstable due to her miscarriages but I also feel that she knew what she had done was wrong. There was no excuse for her actions but I really blame her sister and husband for not doing something about her taking Ruthie and they should have done something as soon as they we...
-Susan_Roberts
Mae ends up being Joe’s caretaker, much to his surprise (“I would never have imagined Mae as the caring type” – p. 47). Do you think this side of her was always buried within, or did she change over time? Why do you believe this?
Mae was the oldest daughter and the oldest tends to take over care of the family members when needed. I think she changed over time - as she got older and saw the needs of her family, she stepped up to help.
-Susan_Roberts
Why do you think art-making becomes so important in the story? Are there other themes that jump out at you about making a meaningful life after loss?
Art is a way to express emotion when words may not. I also think relationships to family and how important they are to help someone after loss. Joe's mother lost so much (and the whole family) but I think having strong family connections kept her strong to get through all the losses she suffered.
-Donna_J
Overall, what did you think of The Berry Pickers (no spoilers, please!)
I loved it. I thought that the way the author told the story in two very different voices enhanced the story. I thought that both of the main characters were well written. I was a bit confused at first about who Norma was and why she was intruding on Joe's story but once I realized the connection...
-Susan_Roberts
How does Norma's feeling of being stuck between worlds come out in the story? In what ways might other characters feel a sense of duality or out of placeness?
At a young age, Norma questioned Lenore, her mother and father why her ear lobes were not attached like theirs, and why her skin was darker. She struggled with dreams that were so vivid to her only to have her mother tell her it's only a dream. She never felt satisfied with the answers she was gi...
-Mary_Goldberg
Is there a quote or section of the book that had special meaning for you? Why do you think it resonated?
On page 227, Alice once said that anger and sadness are just two different sides of the same coin. (Norma said) Every time I started to feel angry, the coin flipped, and I cried. I thought it was a very insightful way to look at circumstances/life. That line resonated with me long after I finishe...
-Carla_Ausherman
On page 7 there’s an exchange between Joe and his father regarding Frankie, the town drunk. Joe is told, “[B]e kind to Frankie. You never know when you might need kindness from people.” How do you think this plays out throughout the rest of the novel?
The book is full of examples of kindness to counteract the cruelty of life. The ending is only plausible because kindness does exist. Norma learned the truth because Aunt June knew what it was to live a lie. Ruthie was welcomed back into the family with love and kindness. Not all stories end happ...
-Claire_Mauro
How does Ruthie's disappearance echo tragedies and atrocities in the broader history of Indigenous peoples? Have you learned more since reading the book?
I found the book depicting a light situation of what happened or what is happening now with the indigenous people. There are quite few articles on "Missing and murdered indigenous people".
-Micheline_Heckler
What are you reading this week? (11/07/2024)
I am currently listening to The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller–A unique and beautifully lyrical retelling of Achilles and the Trojan War–and The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters–Alternating chapters told by Norma [four-year-old Ruthie who suddenly 'goes missing'] and her older brother Joe, both members of the Mi'k maq tribe i...
-Sunny
What are you reading this week? (2024-10-31)
I just finished The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, about a Native American family of berry pickers whose four-year-old daughter goes missing. The plot is character-driven and there's not a lot of act...
-kim.kovacs
"Peters beautifully explores loss, grief, hope, and the invisible tether that keeps families intact even when they are ripped apart. A quiet and poignant debut from a writer to watch." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Enthralling ... Powerfully rendered ... [A] cogent and heartfelt look at the ineffable pull of family ties." —Publishers Weekly
"Peters' debut combines narrative skill and a poignant story for a wonderful novel to which many readers will gravitate ... Indigenous stories like this matter." —Booklist
"One family's secret is the source of another family's pain in this poignant debut that reads like a modern literary classic. Moving, heartbreaking, and hopeful, The Berry Pickers is a powerful tale of haunting regret, bonds that will never be broken, and unrelenting love. Amanda Peters's skilled storytelling evokes all the sensations of summer in Maine, singing around a fire, and the horror that takes hold when a child goes missing." —Nick Medina, author of Sisters of the Lost Nation
"With every sense engaged, and in a lyrical tribute to her father's stories, Amanda Peters manages to take you home to the east coast in the very best ways—through family love and personal grief and the precious accounting of minutes and memories. You cannot help but love these characters from the first chapter, they stay with you long after the last page." —Cherie Dimaline, author of The Marrow Thieves
"A marvelous debut. The Berry Pickers has all the passion of a first book but also the finely developed skill of a well-practiced storyteller. I can't believe Amanda Peters is just getting started. She writes like someone who has been doing this a long time, and no doubt she has, only now we get to share in the creativity of her amazing mind. She's going to be the next big thing. I am placing my bets now. The Berry Pickers is a triumph." —Katherena Vermette, author of The Strangers
This information about The Berry Pickers was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Amanda Peters is a writer of Mi'kmaq and settler ancestry. Her work has appeared in the Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine, the Alaska Quarterly Review, the Dalhousie Review and Filling Station Magazine. She is the winner of the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose and a participant in the 2021 Writers' Trust Rising Stars program. A graduate of the Master of Fine Arts Program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Amanda Peters has a Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto. She lives in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, with her fur babies, Holly and Pook.
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